Cold War Bunkers & Shelters

Why did communists had a massive bunker in the East Germany (photos)German historians are divided over a huge Communist-era bunker in the East Germany. Was it to be used as a command post in the event of World War II? Riding in fully enclosed trucks, a military crew under the command of the East German National People's Army was driven to a remote woodlot near Kossa in Saxony. First, the soldiers set up 6km of steel fencing with 6,000 volts of electricity. The secret fortress, which was finished in 1979, included 6 bunkers, and built with blast-resistant steel doors and decontamination showers. Anyone interested in touring the premises today should wear rubber boots.(spiegel.de)

Nuclear bunker attracted 42 bids, finally fetching 20,600 Pounds in Derbyshire, UKA nuclear bunker in Derbyshire has sold for £20,600 in an eBay auction. The decommissioned Cold War bunker, built in 1959 as a monitoring post by the Royal Observer Corps (ROC), pulled in 42 bids. The bunker, which sits on a 2,756 sq ft plot, has lighting and a phone line and can be used as living accommodation for short periods. It was depicted by the private seller as "a rare opportunity to acquire a valuable piece of Cold War history. The bunker can continue to be used as limited living accommodation for short periods or adventure holidays."(bbc.co.uk)

Visitors tour Cold War missile site at Everglades - History AttractionAt the height of the Cold War, anti-aircraft missiles stood at the ready in Florida's swamplands, protecting the South from a Soviet nuclear attack from Cuba. For almost two decades, after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the HM-69 Nike Hercules Missile Site was staffed by 100 military personnel, one of the last lines of defense. When it closed in 1979, the park took charge of the site. Now the site is undergoing a rebirth as a history attraction, drawing the tourists who want to see the Cold War relic along with those who stumble upon it while visiting Everglades National Park.(usatoday.com)

Secrets of East German leader Erich Honecker's nuclear bunker revealedThe bunker in which East German leaders hoped to survive a nuclear war is to open to the public for the first time. But visitors to the long secret underground location have only 3 months to see the site before it is sealed forever. Bunker 17/5001, 25 miles north of Berlin, is a chilling reminder of Cold War tensions that threatened mutually assured wipeout in the face-off between the US and USSR. Berlin Bunker Network will be leading tours at the bunker: 15GBP per person, or 80GBP for a longer tour through the tighter passages. Thomas Bergmann says that an virtual tour of the bunker, drawn from 1500 high definition photos, will be made available within 2 years.(telegraph.co.uk)

Burlington Underground Cold War CityA 35 acre subterranean Cold War City lies 1000 feet beneath Corsham. Built in the late 1950s, this huge city complex was designed by Government personnel in the event of a nuclear strike. A former Bath stone quarry the city, code named Burlington, was to be the site of the main Emergency Government War Headquarters - the hub of the Britain's alternative seat of power outside London. Over a kilometre in length, and boasting over 60 miles of roads. Blast proof and entirely self-sufficient the secret underground site could house up to 6,000 people, in complete isolation from the outside world, for up to 3 months.(latimes.com)

A Nuclear Family Vacation: Travels in the World of Atomic WeaponryThe first rule of Site R is: You do not talk about Site R. Or, as the security guidance about the Pentagon's nuclear war bunker (AKA Raven Rock Mountain Complex, or RRMC) states: "Avoid conversations about RRMC with unauthorized personnel." The other two rules are: "Do not confirm or deny information about RRMC to reporters or radio stations," and "Do not post RRMC information on web pages." In "A Nuclear Family Vacation: Travels in the World of Atomic Weaponry" we start off in the American southwest and journey all the way to Iran in search of a better understanding of nuclear weapons and warfare.(wired.com)

Protection for Cold War bunker, which was base of U2 and TR-1 spy planesA Cold War bunker, built to withstand a direct nuclear bomb hit, has got one of the highest categories of listing in English Heritage's register of buildings of historic importance. The "Magic Mountain" was one of the last of a number of hardened structures designed to protect U2 and TR-1 spy planes at the base. "The avionics building is unique among the few such buildings in England, because of its size, form and internal survival of the vehicular decontamination unit and compressed air re-pressurising system. It is uniquely associated with the U2/TR-1 aircraft."(dailymail)

Germany opens massive cold war bunker as museum Hidden beneath the hills of the Ahr Valley, the huge nuclear bunker was one of West Germany's best kept secrets during the Cold War. Now, part of the bunker is open to the public. The 9-meter (30-foot) high concrete wall marking the museum's entrance seems out of place among the vineyards of the Ahr Valley. A 200-meter stretch of the underground bunker, which runs 19km under the hillside, has been restored to its original state for the museum. A room filled with radiation decontamination equipment reminds visitors of the then real threat of nuclear attacks during the Cold War.(dw-world)

Cold War paranoia in Kelvedon Hatch - The deepest nuclear bunkerKelvedon Hatch: the deepest nuclear bunker open to the public in UK. "Period details include 100ft deep, 3-storey nuclear bunker with 1½ ton tank-metal blast doors, 10ft-thick walls, Faraday cage and concrete blast caps." The R4 ROTOR bunker, one of 4 of its type in Britain, took 7 months to build, with contractors pouring concrete 24 hours a day. It seems incredible that, 60 years after the term "Cold War" was coined, this place was still under guard in 1994. Kelvedon Hatch had 3 lives: after 15 years as a ROTOR bunker it had a brief civil defence role before becoming the Metropolitan Region Government HQ in the 1960s.(telegraph)

Where is Northern Ireland 's only nuclear bunker?Despite the ending of the Cold War and the warming of relations between Washington and Moscow, the nuclear issue still features regularly on the news. North Korea, Iran, China and Pakistan all get a mention these days, but how prepared is Northern Ireland for any fallout from current arms race rumblings? You may be surprised to learn that there is only one nuclear bunker with room for just 235 people - Northern Ireland has a population of approximately 1.7m. "There is no list of people who would be admitted into it the bunker," said a spokesman for the Office of the First Minister.(bbc)

5 people found not guilty killing God`s banker - So who did kill Calvi?When ‘God`s banker` Roberto Calvi was found hanged under London`s Blackfriars Bridge 25 years ago, it led to a web of financial and political intrigue. Last week, in Rome five people were found not guilty of the crime. --- A major obstacle to solving the Calvi mystery was a London coroner's conclusion that the banker had committed suicide. His ruling was overturned a year later, in 1983, and replaced with an open verdict, but by then the crucial early days of the investigation were over.(sundayherald)

Nuclear bunker offered for sale House hunters in Perthshire are being offered the chance to buy a nuclear bunker set in the grounds of a mansion. Former owner Gwyn Grogan commissioned the shelterat the height of the Cold War to protect his family against a potential Russian invasion. The shelter is 12ft underground and cost £35,000 in 1973. Located at the bottom of the gardens, the bunker is one large room 10 ft by 10 ft, and can be reached via a hatch before descending a dark sloping stairwell. "The nuclear bunker is certainly a quirky feature of the property and is a very important piece of social history."(bbc)

Billion-Dollar Bunker during the Cold WarAs McCamey`s Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers recounts, there were deep shelters to protect essential military and government assets and help with national reconstruction afterwards. One of 'em held billions of dollars in cash. Mount Pony's main 23,500 square foot hall held enough cash - stacked 9 feet high on wooden pallets - to replace all the currency north of the Mississippi. This would be essential in the aftermath of war; hard cash is vital for any rebuilding plans. Bizarre as it may seem, cities might burn but the greenbacks would sit out any conflict securely in air-conditioned comfort.(wired)

Tours of Berlin's underground, including WWII bunkers, draw crowdsBehind a steel door next to a subway platform, a hidden passage leads to an underground complex straight out of the Cold War: a bunker designed to shelter thousands of people from a nuclear attack. The chances of World War III breaking out in the German capital seem remote these days, 18 years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall. But the bunker remains ready just in case. Although Berlin has undergone an urban renewal above the surface since the Wall's demise, the capital has only recently begun re-exploring its subterranean roots. More than 300 bunkers remain from World War II, and while many are filled with debris or blocked, others are in pristine condition.(washingtonpost)

Corsham bunker, where the UK's elite would have retreatedBeneath Wiltshire lies an abandoned fortress, strewn with old rusting machinery and stationery marked top secret. This is the Corsham bunker, where the UK's elite would have retreated in the event of nuclear war. Built at the height of cold war paranoia, it has since been left to crumble. Is the government still preparing for the worst? Until two years ago, the existence of this complex, codenamed Burlington, Stockwell, Turnstile or 3-Site, was classified. It was a huge very secret complex, where the govt and 6,000 apparatchiks would have taken refuge.(guardian)

Historic secret Cold War Bunker to Become a MuseumDuring the Cold War, a secret underground bunker for the West German government was built to protect a chosen few in case of an atomic attack. The site was to be sealed up, but is now planned as a museum. Ron Lerke calls out a greeting and his voice echoes into the darkness, 1.3 kilometers of it. He is underground, in what used to be ultra-secret atomic bunker, located deep in western Germany near the French border. And it`s here, in a tunnel stretching into a black abyss, that a restored section of the bunker will be used for the first time. He walks slowly with a flashlight through the bunker, 200 meters underground, as danger warnings line the walls...(dw-world)

Air defense headquarters move out of a Cold War-era centerFew symbols of the Cold War carry the clanging, into-the-bunker resonance of Cheyenne Mountain, home of the North American Aerospace Defense Command - NORAD. The mountain was carved out in the 1960s to house the early warning system for nuclear war, and Cheyenne's accouterments and image became the stuff of a whole generation's anxieties. The mountain will be kept as a backup, operational and staffed with support personnel – a place of secure retreat should the need again arise.(signonsandiego)

Cold War era Bomb Shelters Making a ComebackThe ongoing and increasing fears of terrorism, has led to a resurgence of interest in a concept that has been basically dormant in America since the early days of the Cold War: bomb shelters for the home. The latest wrinkle is a do-it-yourself bomb shelter kit. Ms. Packer is a co-owner of Utah Shelter Systems, one of the country's largest makers of steel bomb shelters. She tells me public interest in home bomb shelters has risen dramatically following North Korea's missile tests and the breakout of new hostilities in the Middle East.(nysun)